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In NJ, purchased it today for $34,035 OTD when you factor in trade-in of $13,000. Purchase price of $31,900 (including destination) before tax and fees. MSRP of $36,016. Thought it was a good price and fair trade-in. Was suppose to get a better deal but dealer gave me $500 lower on trade-in versus what was promised over the phone, but lower purchase price by $100.

Have to say that even though I think I got a decent deal, it was an unpleasant buying experience overall. Had to fight for everything and was told different amounts over the phone. Basically, dealers overpromising and underdelivering on what they said. All somehow a ploy to get you in the store in my opinion.

I got my 2011 Cyprus Pearl Highlander Limited this afternoon at World Toyota in Atlanta, GA. The model we got has nav/rear DVD/tow with a sticker price of $41,448. We went in with USAA pricing of $35,800 and ended up getting it for $34,717.98 ($37.8k OTD). We financed for 0% over 36 months.

It was a very pleasant buying experience, and I would recommend World Toyota for anyone in the greater Atlanta area.

I am shopping for 2011 Highlander Ltd in SE Michigan, looking to use 1.9% financing. I got a price quote from a local dealer thru USAA's car buying service. The quote is $35,529 for a limited, 4wd with JBL, special paint, tow pkg, mats, x-bars....which seems great.

But I'm not technically a USAA member, their website allows you to log in and create an account to see pricing, and it sent me an email certificate for pricing...so...can I get this from the dealer, or do I have to actually be a member and will he ask me for a membership number/card?

They don't require any sort of verification that you are a USAA member. You can get the same price at TrueCar.com or amexnetwork.zag.com if you feel more comfortable doing it through one of the other car buying services. Just remember that you can always negotiate lower than what the car buying services quote you, but it does give you a very good starting point (which is probably better than what most people end up paying).

actually I just went through amexnetwork.zag.com per your suggestion (since we have an AMEX) and it offered us the exact same price, $35,529. Edmunds suggested pricing is $35,471. These are both almost $1,000 over invoice, which seems fair to me.

I might push for another $500 off, so its a $500 over invoice deal, but it seems pretty good pricing for a 2011 model that was just released, and frankly I don't want to spend my time over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays haggling with multiple dealers in hopes of saving $500.

So Suburban Toyota of Troy is offering the $35,529 price and the quote I got from Serra Toyota in Farmington Hills, Michigan was $37,289 for the exact same vehicle, which is $1,760 more!!!!!

lorenc1, I think you are getting myself and Pilotman mixed up. I bought mine in Atlanta (@World Toyota) and did not get the AWD. Pilotman is looking in Michigan where the need for AWD is much greater. I did get nav/rear dvd/tow for $34,717.98 ($37.8k OTD). It had a sticker price of $41,448. We financed for 0% over 36 months.

Same vehicle on USAA/Amex is: $34,359 + $2,188 (Nav) + $176 (tow) = $36,723. USAA/Amex does not break out destination fee of $810, but something is wrong....granted in this example the difference is $244, but in my example above its much greater.

Moreover, the $244 difference obviously isn't due to the destination fee alone....must be some other, unknown dealer fees being added in.

There is a $1,542 difference in invoice pricing, and if we assume the USAA invoice is higher because it includes destination, that can't be the only answer, since destination is $810....so if we add $810 to USAA price, the invoice price is STILL NEARLY $732 MORE then Edmunds....!?!!

That's fine, it gets me close enough, but just beware there is some missing data with Edmunds and USAA....

2011 Highlander LTD 4WD with mats, special paint (blizzard pearl), mudguards, navigation and tow for $37,076, not including tax and doc fees.

So, according to USAA/Amex car buying service, invoice for this vehicle is $37,178 so I am getting it for $102 less invoice (keep in mind I am not including $500 cash rebate, because I am doing 1.9% financing instead).

According to Edmunds, invoice is $36,446 so I am getting it for $630 above invoice. Either way, its a great deal, and I'm very happy....

I tend to think the USAA/Amex invoice pricing is suspect, because if I took the $500 rebate I would be buying at $602 below dealer invoice.....

I looked at the MSRP of highlanders on World Toyato lot in atlanta and got mixed up. How should i approach getting your deal since we want a highlander with the same mrsp give or take $100. I do not know about USAA pricing. would saying another customer just got this deal work?

I think (?) that the differences are due to what each pricing service thinks that the Dealer ought to make in profit (advertising reserve, etc., etc.). So, they add these additional amounts into the "invoice" price. So, if you pay above the "invoice" price, you are just adding that much more profit that goes to the dealer.

The "invoice" price that the dealer shows you is not his true actual cost for that vehicle. It includes some amounts that are just pure profit to the dealer.

I have not seen the Edmunds pricing method in a while. But as I remember it back when I bought my 2010 Highlander Limited in late December 2009, it did include some of those amounts.

What you need to do is get the actual MSRP on the vehicle & options it includes from the Toyota website & list those in 1 column. Then get the "actual cost" for each of those items from someone independent (I used the Consumer Reports pricing service). To that actual cost, you can add a reasonable profit for the dealer. That is the purchase price you should start at.

Instead of comparing what you paid to the "invoice" price, you should compare what you paid to the MSRP. The smaller the amount you paid is when compared to the MSRP, the better deal you got.

On December 23rd 2009 I paid right at $ 5000.00 less than the MSRP for my 2010 Highlander Limited 2WD. It did not have the Nav system nor towing package.

That purchase date was not intended to fall just before Christmas. It just happened that my negotiations ended on that date when I got the price I wanted.

Just go in with the USAA or AMEX print out. If you don't qualify for either of those programs and don't feel comfortable trying to use those to get your pricing, I think you will be offered the same price if you go through http://www.truecar.com and it is available to the public. I am not sure if I am allowed to recommend specific salesmen, but I worked with someone that shares a name with the eldest daughter on the simpsons at world toyota and she was very easy to deal with.

Pilotman, I agree with you about the invoice pricing shown on usaa. According to usaa the vehicle I got has an invoice of 37.5k and the sold it to me for 34.7k (before tax/tags)? There is no way unless toyota is providing some major incentives to dealerships. I am fine with anything < $1000 over invoice and I still feel that I got a really good deal.

Just bought 2011 Highlander FWD v6 Limited with following options:navigation, towing package, side molding, premium carpets and vehicle shield package. The MSRP was $39,493. The invoice price came to $36,464. Dealer showed me the invoice. I paid $36K with 0% financing for 36 months - Approximately $450 less than invoice.

Truecar.com invoice adds $1133 as regional marketing fees while other websites don't include this amount to the invoice price. I tried my best to deduct the regional ad fees from the dealer invoice without much luck. The dealer is Charles Maund Toyota at Austin TX. Haggled with several Toyota dealers around Austin. Most of them were saying $500 to $750 over the invoice. Finally, got a good deal with Charles Maund Toyota. Hope this helps for those of you who are still shopping for a HL.

I'm negotiating a deal for a new HL Limited RWD with Nav in Arizona. MSRP is $38786 plus tax and title. Invoice is $35093. The price I am at is $33900 which includes $1000 cash back for not using their financing (which makes no sense to me). How am I doing?

Also, do you know what the new Toyota deal will be in December? Does it make sense to wait?

Tomorrow I'm planning to purchase a Highlander base model AWD and I'm getting a price OTD of 32,800. I feel that I can do much better than this, hat dealer in NJ did you go to? Anyone has any thoughts about this deal.

The cypress pearl Highlander came with ash interior and had the Tow Prep, Cold Weather, and Tech Package as well as floor and cargo mats and cross bars for the rails.

I contacted numerous dealers in the Boston area via email over a two week period and Boch Toyota had the lowest price that no other dealers could match. I spoke with the internet managers over the phone to confirm final price and to ensure no surprises when I arrived. I scheduled a time to meet with a sales person. I arrived at 7:30pm and left at 9:30pm with the exact quoted price to the cent. Overall the experience of getting the quote and purchase was easy but waiting in a large dealership like Boch, with dozens of sales people running around and customers waiting for help, I felt I would have been willing to pay slightly more at a smaller dealership. But I could not resist the price.

I'll be paying cash when I buy. Last week I got a dealer quote for a 2010 Highlander SE 4X4 w/ leather for invoice plus the $1K in add'l charges . . . my friend told me that the 2011 Highlander SE 4X4 w/ leather shouldn't be any more than that & I can use that 2010 quote to help me get a good quote for a 2011.

The 2010 has since been sold so I'd like to do what he recommends and shop around some other dealers - but I don't want to be bamboozled. One dealer asked to see the other invoice . . . soooo -

1) Is my friend's advice correct? Did dealers pay the same for 2011s as they did 2010s?

2) Should I let the new dealer see it before I go in or should I wait until I go in and start my negotiations?

3) If you were I, what would you do to ensure I don't let a dealer trip me up.

I could care less about vechicle color. I do care for leather - that's the only request.

Your MSRP is spot on according to Edmunds. Invoice for that vehicle, not including the $229 MSRP for the crossbars is $29,883.

Can you tell me how you purchased for $28,118?

That is $1,765 BELOW INVOICE. No offense, but I don't see how that is even possible. I called those guys you were dealing with because I'm out of state but if they are selling almost $2,000 BELOW INVOICE I will drive there to pick up my car since I haven't closed yet with my local dealer.

I told them of the deal you just posted above, they said there is no way they could sell me the truck I was looking at for $1,500 below invoice...

So what gives?

What is your understanding of the deal you got? Do you think you paid $1765 below invoice, or are my numbers wrong?

I think the dealer is lying to me, how can they ignore the deal you just got!!!!?

I paid cash for my deal so the price was $28,618 -$500 rebate = $28,118. I believe the same rebate is available unitl 1/3/11. FYI: I was able to get Wellesley Toyota down to $28,300 and Framingham Bernardi Toyota to $28,318 but they did not have cross bars. I went with Boch because they were the lowest. Tell Boch your friend JC bought stock # 41705 and lets see what they say. My transaction was initially through the internet with Chris Connolly and Damond James (internet sales managers) about a week before month end. I did not talk to a floor sales person. I just emailed them and said I got a quote for $29,000 not including TTL and Doc Fee from another dealership, so what can you do. They just emailed me back and said $28,118. I did not even haggle with them. So I used this to get Wellesley and Bernardi down. I then called and spoke with both Damond and Chris to confirm the quote. I then went down and paid for the Highlander. It was a pretty straight forward deal from start to finish. I can forward you their email quote.

Anyone have pricing on this? I am quoted 26200 OTD for 2010 Highlander V6 Front wheel drive dealer in Chantilly, Virginia. Any suggestion where in northern virginia good place to buy? I am interested in Highlander V6 all wheel drive, anyone bought one recently? what the OTD price?